As you already know, Bethesda has released the first official patch for Fallout 4 earlier this week and it has been rolled out across all platforms. The patch fixes several known issues as well as improving performance of the game.

However, it appears Bethesda has resorted to some rather questionable methods in order to improve performance of the game in certain areas. An example is the optimization for Corvega Assembly Plant, where they downgraded the visuals in exchange of better framerates. This downgrade was implemented across all 3 platforms including PC.

As discovered by several users on the forum NeoGaf, the patch removes shadows from the Corvega Assembly Plant area. This particular area was known to suffer severe framerate issues on both the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game.

It was as low as 20 FPS on both versions and resulted in a poor gameplay experience filled with shuttering issues. However, the patch takes care of that although by using the unconventional method of removing shadows from the area all together. Have a look –

What is even stranger is the fact that Bethesda decided to do the same on the PC version and shadows have been removed from there as well. Take a look below (PC Version) –

We’re yet to encounter similar downgrade in visuals in other areas so it might mean that only this particular area was optimized to improve overall performance. What’s confusing, however, is the fact that the PC version was also victim of the changes. Let us know if you notice any other downgrades or improvement once you download the patch.